Red Cross continues to care for those impacted by February storms and floods

The American Red Cross continues to work closely with the entire response community — federal, state, county and local agencies, nonprofit and faith-based organizations, area businesses, and others — to provide residents affected by the February storms and floods resources to help them with their recovery.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA COASTAL REGION RESPONSE

Shelter and Evacuation Centers — To provide a temporary dry haven for families displaced from their homes by flooding during the series of powerful storms, six Red Cross shelters and evacuation centers have opened and some closed in Northern California Coastal Region. Since February 10, Red Cross has provided nearly 3,700 overnight stays in eight different shelters in San Jose, Monterey County and Lake County.

Red Cross Recovery Assistance:

Red Cross caseworkers as well as health and mental health workers will continue to meet with and support families affected by the storms to provide disaster financial assistance when applicable, and recovery planning and referrals to other resources as needed. To date, Red Cross caseworkers have meet with more than 800 families, including 780 from San Jose alone. Impacted families can make an appointment to meet with Red Cross caseworkers by calling:

408-577-2054 for those in San Jose

707-438-7059 for those in Lake County

Health and Emotional Support:

Disasters are scary and it’s normal to feel a wide range of emotions. Trained Red Cross workers can help you cope emotionally, and Red Cross nurses can help with disaster-related medical needs, such as lost prescription medications, eyeglasses, or medical equipment. For assistance, call:

408-577-2054 for those in San Jose

707-438-7059 for those in Lake County

To date, clients with unmet needs have made more than 1,700 health contacts with Red Cross Health workers and more than 750 mental health contacts with Red Cross Disaster Mental Health workers who provide help for coping with the emotional impact of this situation.

Feeding and Relief Supplies:

As affected neighborhoods in Lake, Monterey, and Santa Clara Counties were cleared for reentry, Red Cross volunteers delivered meals and relief supplies such as cleaning, hygiene and comfort items; shovels, rakes, and tarps; heater meals, water and snacks.

Since February 10, Red Cross disaster workers in the Northern California Coastal Region have served more than 38,000 meals and snacks by the Red Cross, Salvation Army, and partners and handed out nearly 25,000 relief supplies including: "comfort kits," which contain personal-hygiene items and clean-up items such as gloves, rakes, shovels, trash bags, tarps, and more

VOLUNTEER — We have had an outpouring of community support, and currently expect that we have sufficient numbers of volunteers to provide Red Cross services to our clients in San Jose this week.

An average of 90 percent of Red Cross workers are local volunteers, and the American Red Cross always welcomes new volunteers to help our community prepare, respond to and recover from disaster. For example, volunteers are needed for the Silicon Valley Chapter's upcoming Home Fire Preparedness event on March 18. To become a trained disaster responder or community educator, please apply online at tinyurl.com/RedCrossNorCal.

OTHER COMMUNITY SUPPORT — Community organizations, including churches and others centers of worship, that wish to coordinate with or offer assistance to the Red Cross as part of this response are asked to contact the local Red Cross Community Partnerships team at 408-577-2021.

DONATIONS — We are incredibly grateful to the many community members who have reached out to the Red Cross and want to do everything they can to help those impacted by this disaster. Unfortunately, collecting and sending food, clothing and other household items often does more harm than good. Instead, the best way to support disaster victims is with a financial donation. Even a small financial donation can go further than you might think.

You can help people affected by disasters like California Floods and countless other crises by making a donation to support Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small. Visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

BE SAFE AND PREPARED

Download the free Red Cross Emergency App to have safety information and shelter locations available on your mobile device.

The Emergency App features emergency weather alerts to help keep the user safe, and provides information about what to do in case of floods as well as the locations of open shelters.

Red Cross apps are available in smartphone app stores by searching for the American Red Cross or going to RedCross.org/apps.